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Bride of Chucky
Bride of Chucky is a 1998 horror film distributed by Universal Pictures. It is the fourth installment of the ''Chucky'' franchise. The film is written by Don Mancini and directed by Ronny Yu. It stars Jennifer Tilly (who plays and voices the titular character Tiffany) and Brad Dourif (who voices Chucky), as well as John Ritter, Katherine Heigl, and Nick Stabile. Unlike the first three Child's Play films, this film takes a more humorous turn and often into self-referential parody. It does not continue on with the concept of a child victim in possession of the doll, thus the absence of Child's Play in the title. As of now, Chucky is the official brand name of the film series. Bride of Chucky follows the events of Child's Play 3 in continuity, but not tonally or in a continuation of those films' overall plot (where Chucky pursued the character Andy Barclay in the first two films and later Tyler in the third film). This film also marks Chucky's new permanent look, a more frightening appearance in which his face is covered in stitches, staples, and scars following his fate in Child's Play 3. Although made seven years after, the setting is one month following the events depicted in Child's Play 3. Plot One month after Chucky was destroyed by a giant fan at a carnival by Andy Barclay and Tyler, Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly), a former girlfriend and accomplice of serial killer Charles Lee Ray (Brad Dourif), acquires the remains of Chucky from a police compound after bribing and then murdering a police officer with access to the evidence locker. Assuming that Ray's soul still inhabits the doll, Tiffany takes it back to her place. She crudely stitches Chucky back together and reenacts the voodoo ritual which instilled Ray inside the doll, ten years ago. At first her incantations fail to produce results, but Chucky unexpectedly springs to life and smothers Tiffany's Goth admirer Damien (Alexis Arquette) to death with a pillow as Tiffany looks on with excitement. Tiffany and Chucky later have an argument because Tiffany believed Chucky wanted to marry her. Upon learning he had no intention of doing so, Tiffany locks Chucky in a playpen for a nursery. Later she gives him another doll in a wedding dress with a real diamond ring to make fun of him. While Tiffany is watching TV during a bath, Chucky escapes the play pen (by cutting through the wood with the ring) and pushes the TV into the bath, electrocuting her in the process. Then, using the same voodoo spell, Chucky gains further revenge against Tiffany by transferring her soul into the bride doll so she could feel what he went through as a living doll. Still intent on becoming human again, Chucky concocts a plan with Tiffany to retrieve an amulet that was buried with Ray's body, and use the bodies of Tiffany's neighbor Jesse (Nick Stabile) and his girlfriend Jade (Katherine Heigl) as a means to return to their human bodies. Tiffany changes to look like a miniature version of her human form and then sends Jesse a message asking him to take the two dolls to New Jersey in exchange for cash. Jesse convinces Jade to go with him and helps her pack. Jade's strict and overprotective uncle police chief Warren (John Ritter), who despises Jesse, breaks into his van and plants a bag of marijuana there to frame him. Fearing this will ruin their plans, Chucky and Tiffany set up a car airbag to launch nails into Warren's face. Satisfied that they have killed him, the dolls hide Warren in a casket. Jesse and Jade return and begin their trip. Outside a convenience store, they are pulled over by Officer Norton, who asks to search Jesse's car. After he finds the marijuana Warren planted, he goes back to his police car to report it to the authorities. During this time, Chucky crawls over and shoves a cloth into the police car gas tank and lights it. Norton is killed when his car explodes and, seeing the explosion, Jesse and Jade flee the scene. Soon, they stop at a wedding chapel/hotel and are married. During that time, Warren, still alive, tries to run away but is stabbed numerous times in the back by Chucky, finally killing him. While in the hotel, Jesse and Jade meet a con artist couple who steal Jesse's money. As the criminals make love in their room, Tiffany grabs their bottle of champagne and throws it into the mirrored ceiling, sending down shards of glass and killing the two con-artists. Amazed, Chucky reveals his true feelings for Tiffany and then proposes to her. The next morning, a maid finds the corpses of the couple and Jesse and Jade drive away with their best friend David, who knew about their plan to elope and heard about the recent murders. David reveals that Jesse and Jade have been blamed for all of the deaths. He suddenly finds Warren's body and demands that Jesse pull over. While he is confronting them, the dolls come alive and hold them hostage with guns, demanding for them to keep driving. David alerts a police officer and accidentally steps into the lane of a moving truck, much to the horror of Jesse and Jade, who drive away with the dolls. They are then chased by a police car, the tires of which Chucky is able to shoot, forcing it off the road. The dolls reveal their plan to Jesse and Jade, and direct Jesse to drive up to a mobile home, which they acquire as a new vehicle in order to evade the police. While preparing Jade for the body-switch, Tiffany begins talking with Jade, who manages to turn Tiffany against Chucky. A fight between Tiffany and Chucky ensues and Jade locks Tiffany into the oven by kicking, meanwhile Jesse pushes Chucky out the window. Chucky shoots at Jesse, causing the mobile home to run off the road and into a ditch. Chucky forces Jade to take him to his grave site, while Jesse takes Tiffany—badly burned but still alive—and follows them. Chucky orders Jade to open the casket and give him the amulet, which she does. Jesse then appears with Tiffany and they trade hostages, but Chucky throws a knife into Jesse's back, and ties up the couple for the ritual. Before Chucky begins the incantation, which Tiffany distracts Chucky by kissing him, but Tiffany pulls the knife out of Chucky's pocket, and stabs him in his back. They fight until he stabs her in the heart, and she collapses to the ground. While distracted, Jesse knocks Chucky into his grave. A private investigator arrives to see Jade pointing a gun into the hole, and is shocked to see Chucky. The investigator then watches Jade shoots Chucky to death several times, though Chucky yells that he will return as he always does. Jade fires a final bullet which seemingly pierces Chucky's heart. The investigator contacts the police, telling them that Jesse and Jade are innocent of the murders and sends the couple on their way. Afterward, the investigator stumbles upon and investigates Tiffany's doll body, Tiffany suddenly springs to life and gives birth to a bloody baby doll before finally dying. The baby doll then attacks the investigator by biting his nose off, before the scene cuts to black. Cast * Jennifer Tilly as Tiffany/the voice of Tiffany Ray * Brad Dourif as the voice of Chucky * Katherine Heigl as Jade * Nick Stabile as Jesse * Alexis Arquette as Howard Fitzwater/Damien Baylock * Gordon Michael Woolvett as David Collins * John Ritter as Chief Warren Kincaid * Lawrence Dane as Lt. Preston * Michael Louis Johnson as Officer "Needlenose" Norton * James Gallanders as Russ * Janet Kidder as Diane * Vince Corazza as Officer Robert Bailey * Kathy Najimy as Motel Maid Soundtrack # The Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies - "Boogie King" # White Zombie - "Thunder Kiss '65" # Coal Chamber - "Blisters" # Monster Magnet - "See You in Hell" # Judas Priest - "Blood Stained" # Type O Negative - "Love You to Death" # Slayer - "Human Disease" # Stabbing Westward - "So Wrong" # Powerman 5000 - "The Son of X-51" # Bruce Dickinson - "Trumpets of Jericho"http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0225503/ # Static-X - "Bled for Days" # Motörhead - "Love for Sale" # Kidneythieves - "Crazy" # Graeme Revell - "We Belong Dead" # Blondie - "Call Me" # Rob Zombie - "Living Dead Girl" Box office and reception Bride of Chucky was released in North America on October 16, 1998 on 2,467 movie screens. It managed to pull in $11,830,855 on its opening weekend, with a total North American gross of $32,383,850 and another $18,288,000 internationally. Its worldwide gross was $50,671,850, making it the most financially successful Chucky film to date, beating the original Child's Play by 6 million dollars. Critical reception was mixed to positive. The film received overall better reviews than its 1991 predecessor, with praise directed towards the roles of the antagonists by Jennifer Tilly and Brad Dourif, as well as its dark humor and self-referential parody. However, the film disappointed some fans of the series, due to the sudden change in tone from straightforward horror to black comedy and no appearance or mentioning of the character Andy Barclay from the previous three films with only a reference in a newspaper article in the beginning of the movie. The film currently holds a 44% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 34 reviews. Awards Sequels The film was followed by a sequel in 2004, Seed of Chucky and another sequel in 2013, Curse of Chucky. References External links * * * * Category:1998 films Category:1998 horror films Category:1990s comedy horror films Category:American films Category:English-language films Category:American sequel films Category:Road movies Category:Slasher films Category:American parody films Category:Universal Pictures films Category:Child's Play (film series) Category:Films directed by Ronny Yu Category:Films set in 1998 Category:Films set in New Jersey Category:Film scores by Graeme Revell